Dark Magic
by godammit-shinji
Summary: An AU where Sonia and Gundam meet and fall in love in a natural manner. Inspired by prompt on Tumblr. Short one-shot.


**Disclaimer: The story idea is not mine! I got it from Tumblr user sheimi-chan. The cover art was from tumblr, and did not have a source, if you are the artist please let me know so I can credit you or take it down!**

Although he'd been in Nosvelic for two months already, he hadn't made any friends. His parents pestered him about it every day when he came home from school, but he just ignored them and melted into the thick wood behind his house. He loved its earthy scent, the heavy pines that loomed over him and most of all, the animals. He loved the deer that wandered through the clearings, the squirrels that perched on flimsy tree limbs, the birds that seemed to be singing to only him, and the chipmunks that skirted the trunks of fallen trees. He loved that the animals didn't laugh at the fact he only knew Japanese, that he was gangly and awkward, that he had an angry scar covering half of his face. This was where he first met her.

He had discovered a small colony of rabbits that inhabited the southern tip of the forest and had been visiting them regularly. Today, after over two weeks of coaxing he'd been able to get one of the rabbits to sit next to him and then, slowly onto his head. He was thinking about how much he loved the feel of the evil beast's warm heartbeat pulsating on his skull, when a feminine voice chirped from behind him. "Wow! How did you ever get that rabbit to perch on your head? You must have considerable talent!" Her sudden noise caused him to jolt in surprise, leading to the fleeing of the rabbit. "Evil sorceress, you will regret causing my beast to-"he stammered in Japanese and then paused when he turned to look at her. She wasn't like any of the girls in his native Japan, or even in his town in Nosvelic. She had an almost regal air to her, with long white-blond hair and glittering blue eyes. She surely had to be the concoction of a witch plotting his downfall.

Much to his horror she began talking to him. He spoke only broken sentences in the native language of Nosvelic and when she recognized his accent she immediately switched over to Japanese, since apparently she had been educated in many languages from a very early age, seeing as (she stated nonchalantly) she was the princess of Nosvelic. At first he'd been shocked. Shouldn't a princess be cooped up in her castle, fulfilling her royal duties? But no, she loved the outside world as much as him, and would quickly bore of the endless meetings and the dull glow of the gilded hallways in the palace. But he couldn't tell anybody because she wasn't permitted to be here! He nodded solemnly, and offered to make a blood oath which she said wasn't necessary. The boy talked to the princess (whose name he learned was Sonia) for what felt like minutes but was in reality hours. His mother hollered at him when he returned after sundown, grass stains spotting his pants, but he didn't notice. He, Gundam Tanaka finally had a friend.

From that point onward, the two were inseparable. They met nearly every afternoon in the gentle woods, sharing their love of the occult, Gundam taming cute animals for her; because he knew it would make her grin. He loved to see her grin. In return she brought pastries she'd nabbed from meetings or snips of silk fabrics stolen from her tailor. They never visited each other's houses because, well it's not so easy to sneak into a palace and Gundam didn't want his parents pestering him about his friend. And besides, their meetings in the woods were enough. It was enough for the to lay on beds of moss with sunlight filtering through to them, to roll in the clearing, to scramble up the knobbed trees in search of nests and knotholes. And while their peers were growing and changing it was nice to have their own little infinity in their forest.

Puberty hit Gundam hard. He shot up, somehow managing to maintain his lanky figure. All of his work with animals, paid off, leaving him with firm arm muscles, along with a smattering of scars on his arms, gifts from the animals he spent his time with. Sonia also grew, her curves filling out and her hair lengthening. Gundam believed with all of his heart that the change in their bodies wouldn't change their friendship, and for a time he was right. The one day, he began looking at Sonia. Really looking. He didn't want to just chat idly with her anymore. He wanted to kiss her and hold her hand and be able to lie entwined with her in their mossy patches of Sunlight. The feeling festered in him, making his stomach churn and his head spin. He didn't dare say anything, because she may be a Lady of Darkness, but she wasn't _his _Lady of Darkness. She was the only person he had, besides his beloved wildlife and although he liked to think he didn't need to rely on humanity, Sonia was the exception.

Sonia noticed subtle changes in Gundam that somebody could only observe if they had spent hours upon hours with him. Besides his newfound love for hair gel, she noticed his crooked smile and how his two-toned eyes were possibly the most beautiful things she had ever seen. She noticed how he could no longer look her in the eyes for more than a few seconds, the way he shied away from their usual physical affection. And then she realized that if she wanted him to go back to his old self she'd have to make a move. This was why, one afternoon, when Gundam was showing off a chipmunk he'd corralled; she leaned over and kissed him. She could sense his surprise when she first pressed her lips roughly against his but felt him loosening up into her. Needless to say, it was the best decision the princess ever made.

Nothing changed after the kiss, but somehow everything changed. They spent their time in the woods kissing, hungry for each other, as all teenagers do but had long talks, staring up at the cotton ball clouds, not worrying about the future, not dwelling on the past but just living in each other. But, as it the case at their age, they began to have more responsibilities placed on their shoulders. And Sonia, being a princess, a fact Gundam often forgot, suddenly had more and more royal duties to attend to, balls to dance at, conventions to speak at. He saw her less and less, spending hours waiting by their usual meeting spot, waiting for her, until it became dark and he realized she wouldn't be coming that day. One day, when Sonia had managed to find some time to spend with him, she dropped a bomb on him. She was banned for visiting the forest. Entirely.

All the same, at least once a month Sonia would slip away from the castle in the dead of night and meet up with Gundam, their bodies knotting together into a mass of sweat and hormones. Each knew the other was eagerly awaiting their next meeting, counting down the weeks, days, and minutes. Then one night, like so many days Sonia didn't show up. Gundam waited and waited, till he was shivering from cold and exhaustion for her to show up. He didn't have a cell phone (honestly, what use would he have for one?) so he had no way of contacting his lady. With no assurance for his anxieties, thoughts began running thought his mind. What if she no longer wanted him? What if she never would return? For a solid month these worries tormented him until his mother handed him a newspaper clipping.

Typically, help wanted ads don't cure romantic troubles but this was different. This was a job in a stable. Now not just any stable, mind you. The royal stables. If he obtained this job he could easily find Sonia and talk to her, ask her why she'd been absent for so long, what curse she was putting on his heart.

Naturally, he got the job. He worked long and hard, until his back ached and his head pounded, but even after his first week there was no sight of Sonia. He realized how dumb he had been to think that she would just magically materialize next to him. The palace was enormous and she probably never visited the stables! So one day he set out to catch her attention. Sneaking into the main part of the palace was not easy, mind you. He pulled his scarf all the way up to his nose to hide his identity, slinking along walls secret-agent style (which was quite ineffective in hiding him, but the guards were lax that particular day). It didn't take him long to find the residential wing of the palace and from there, Sonia's room.

Over the years Sonia had many would-be suitors, from princes to local boys, all of which she turned down. They had arrived with roses and candies, hoping to entice her, but they were turned away every time. That was why Sonia was not surprised when there was a small parcel sitting in front of her door when she came back from her studies. She was casually aiming to throw it into the garbage bin when a small squeak came from inside of it. "How odd," she thought, sitting on her bed, opening up the bag. Inside was a not flower or candies. It was a hamster, lying comfortably on a familiar purple scarf. Sonia had figured Gundam had forgotten about her, abandoned her after her terrible absences, but here was proof that somewhere nearby, a dark Prince was waiting for his Princess.

The next morning, as Gundam passed the usual empty stable he heard a giggle he would recognize anywhere. He spun on his heels and saw Sonia, buried in a pile of hay, grinning madly at him. "You thought I would abandon you, after that spell you put on my heart?" she whispered softly as she went up to him and pulled him closer.


End file.
